Illinois

Answers by Chris Archibald (vocals/guitar/banjo/keys)

How did you approach your Rock The Rabbit T-Shirt design? I wanted to do something creative, homemade, clever...ah shit, actually I just like seeing my face on a t-shirt! Don't judge me!

Do you have a favorite article of clothing? I used to have the perfect pair of jeans and now they're shorts.

Where did you pick up ideas about style and design? Is it related at all to your music? My style changes daily, so yeah, kind of like my music. No matter what I wear I usually end up nude with a lampshade on my head. Again, don't judge me.

Do you have a favorite musician whose style you really like? Has that musician influenced your style? No one specific. I just dislike tight pants.

What does Playboy mean to you? When do you recall discovering Playboy? Thanks to Playboy I am up to date on news, politics, sports, music and titties! Oh God I love titties. Thanks to Playboy I've never looked at a woman in skis the same. I vividly remember the first time we found my friend's dad's stash. I was licking the pages like they were sheets of PCP.

Beatles or Stones? Not fair... bones

Were there bands you heard at a certain point in your lives that made a huge difference in how you thought about music? I started playing guitar because of Neil Young's "Needle and the Damage Done." Before he got married to Pearl Jam and had children.

Do you guys have a pre-game ritual or a superstition before or during shows? Each show we give out a gameball to the player that played the best. We keep stats. I'm the league leader! We also need 10 minutes before and after shows alone, to smack each other in the head.

What was the best show you ever played? Why? What makes a good show from your perspective? Two-way tie we opened for Julianna Hatfield in Philly and the Kooks in Brooklyn. Both were special 'cause we had good (out of town) friends there. The crowds were great at both. Good crowds = good shows.

At what point do you know a song is good? Do you ever have an idea you just know is going to kill on the dance floor or live or whatever? To a songwriter the songs are like children: yer still gonna love 'em when their bad. I always tend to favor the ones that shit on the rug. Nobody likes the deformed kids! But I do.

What's the most exciting thing you've done in the past year as a result of your music career? Duh, Playboy

What's your favorite place on earth? Wrapped in an afghan in a hammock during autumn.

Best song you've been listening to lately? "Queen Ansleis Jumps," by Hop Along

Favorite new band? Eastern Conference Champions, Hop Along

Favorite driving album? MC5

Favorite bedroom album? I like mellow hip hop, or acoustic stuff.

Do you think the album format is dead? Hell no, there's nothing like putting together a 60-minute escape that dances all over our emotions and memories. I've never been one for "the hits." The picture wouldn't be as pretty if every track was competing to be the best one, sometimes the ugly shit makes some other shit look more beautiful. It's art, right?

How have the technology boom and the internet affected the way you approach promoting your music? Well naturally it gives artists the ball, it's taken over the industry. I think everyone is still trying to figure it all out. I think that the way the world works nowadays is that everybody needs things, pronto, right now. And the boom allows that to happen. But our generation, err, MY generation, still has vinyls hanging on the wall. How do we bring that passion back? I know I got a million and a half CDs that sit in boxes in moldy basements. I'm hanging on to them like an ex-girlfriend. Hoping for that one day, perhaps a quickie. But I can't wait till I just throw them all out. I'm such a hypocrite.